Max Verstappen on the threshold of the elite “Club 50”

In the entire history of Formula 1, there have only been four drivers who have won 50 or more Grand Prix, and the first member of this elite club was Alain Prost.

The four-time world champion achieved 51 victories during his quite long career, winning his 50th race in 1993, when he was already 38 years old. Therefore, the opening day of the “Club 50” can be considered as July 11 of that year, the last of Prost’s Formula 1 career: he was then at the top of the podium at Silverstone and this was his 192nd Grand Prix.

Next to him on the podium that day was the young Michael Schumacher, who at the time had only one victory to his name, but he reached the milestone of 50 Grand Prix victories much faster than Prost – it took him 154 races. The future seven-time world champion took his 50th victory at the French Grand Prix on July 1, 2001, when he was 32 years old.

The next two Formula 1 heroes to join this club were of course Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

Lewis was 31 years old when he took part in his 185th Grand Prix in Austin in 2016, culminating in his 50th victory. And now the Mercedes driver has already achieved 103 victories, and this is of course a fantastic record.

Sebastian Vettel was the same age when he took part in his 205th race, and that victory in Canada in the summer of 2018 was the 50th of his career.

But Max Verstappen becomes the fifth and youngest member of the 50 Club, having celebrated his 26th birthday less than a month ago. The victory in Qatar was the 49th achievement of his 180-race career, and he could reach the top of the podium for the 50th time next Sunday in Austin. By the way, it was he who won the American Grand Prix in the last two years.

Furthermore, only five racers will most likely remain in the “Club 50” for a very long time. Although there are of course promising guys among the participants of the 2023 championship, Charles Leclerc has only 5 victories so far, Carlos Sainz has two and George Russell has one.

Of course Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (who already won the sprint) will continue to compete in Formula 1 for a long time, but something tells me that McLaren will not have the kind of cars that Verstappen now has. The same applies to riders from other teams.

And for Verstappen, his RB19 ensures that he can win on any track and under any conditions, but it’s not just about the technical aspect: according to highly authoritative experts, the Dutch Red Bull Racing driver has no weaknesses at all.